This invention relates generally to aromatic liquid dispensers and in particular to a wall-mounted assembly in which a spray can is concealed within a pivoted cover plate to simulate the appearance of a conventional light switch, the dispenser being operated by a switch-like action.
The term "aromatic liquid" as used herein is not limited to liquids which when sprayed into the atmosphere provide a pleasant or perfumed odor, for the term is intended to encompass all liquids which when discharged act to condition, modify or otherwise change the atmosphere, such as air fresheners, deodorizers and insecticides.
Ther term "Spray Can" as used herein includes any container or canister for an aromatic liquid which includes a depressible actuating pin which when operated emits an upward liquid spray. The can may be of the aerosol type, in which case it is pressurized, or it may be unpressurized, in which case it includes a pump operated by the actuating pin.
Aromatic liquid spray cans have many uses in the home, the office or in any other environment where there is a need to render the atmosphere more agreeable. Thus spray cans may be used to mask the odor of tobacco smoke, to emit insecticides and to in other respects improve or alter the atmospheric conditions prevailing in a room. Yet there are circumstances where it is socially undesirable or embarrassing to operate a spray can.
Thus when company is present in a living room, it is socially unseemly for the hostess to openly operate a spray can, even though the room may be filled with tobacco smoke or otherwise be in need of refreshing. Nor would it be proper for a guest in someone's else's bathroom to make use of a spray can to freshen the air.
These inhibitions against the open use of spray cans, though perhaps somewhat Victorian, still prevail, and however acute the need for an air freshener or deodorizer, one is often unable to take advantage of the effective products now available for enhancing the atmosphere of a room.
The present invention provides a wall-mounted spray can assembly by which wall mounting is preferably effected by the adhesive system disclosed in my above-identified copending application whose entire disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. In this adhesive system, use is made of a wall sheet of flexible film whose undersurface has a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive thereon whereby the sheet may be pressed against the wall at a desired installation site and intimately conformed thereto. Also provided is a fixture having a flat base whose area is much smaller than that of the sheet, the base having a pressure sensitive layer thereon, making it possible to press the fixture against the exposed surface of the sheet in the central zone thereof to form a strong bond therewith.
The wall sheet may be readily peeled from the wall without in any way impairing the wall surface, so that one may readily remove the adhesive system from the wall. On the other hand, the bond between the wall sheet and the fixture is difficult to break, so that even a heavy load imposed on the fixture will not dislodge it from the wall. Because adhesive contact with the wall surface is only by way of the wall sheet, this large area coupling is highly resistant to shear and bending forces.